Master and Student With a Twist
by ArmorOfDay
Summary: While giving Melissa a ride home, Optimus is attacked by a Decepticon. Can he defeat the Con and protect his young friend? Loosely based off the Transformers Prime episode Master and Student.


Olivia grinned as she watched Ratchet take over Jack, Raf, and Miko's science projects. The grouchy ambulance mech was like a man possessed, going over each little detail to the point of insanity. The 17-year-old redhead was glad she had decided to work on her project at home. The last thing she needed was for Ratchet to supercharge the electric powered engine she was making like he was doing to Raf's volcano. From the look of things, it was liable to take off the roof of the school by the time he was done with it.

"Ratchet, perhaps the children should work on their projects by themselves," Optimus said, the Autobot leader looking a little concerned for his oldest friend.

"Nonsense! They want them to be done right, don't they?" Ratchet dismissed, a glint shining in his optics which Olivia found slightly disturbing. "Now, watch a master at work!"

"Control freak," Miko muttered.

"No kidding. Forget getting a bad grade," Olivia said with a snicker. "At the rate he's going, you guys could get expelled."

"Expelled? I can't get expelled!" Raf exclaimed, alarm in the 12-year-old's wide eyes, made larger by his glasses. "My mom would kill me!"

"Relax, Raf. I was just kidding," the redhead reassured him, adjusting her own glasses. "I seriously doubt you'll get expelled."

Raf relaxed and nodded, relieved. "Don't joke like that. I like going to school."

"Raf, you're the only one here who does," Miko said, flipping her pink-dyed streak of hair out of her eyes. "Well, since I don't have anything to do now that 'Mr. Science' has taken over our projects, I'm going to go see a movie. Later guys."

"I'll go with you," Jack said, following after her.

"I think I should get going too," Olivia said. "Need to work on my own project. Optimus, could you give me a ride?"

"Of course, Olivia," Optimus said agreeably, transforming into his semi-truck alt mode, the passenger door popping open.

Olivia hopped in and buckled up. "Thanks, Optimus."

"You're welcome," he replied, starting up his engine and heading for the exit.

They left the Autobot's underground base and entered the warm Nevada landscape. Even though it was only March, it was already in the high 80's. Olivia turned on the AC and settled back for the ride. She and Optimus chatted as they drove, the Autobot leader always interested in learning about Earth in any way. And Olivia enjoyed their conversations as well, learning about Cybertron and its own culture. It was surprising how similar and different they were at the same time. And despite an age gap of a few million years, she and Optimus got along very well together. She had introduced him to her favorite heavy metal music, which Olivia insisted was very different from the rock metal songs Miko enjoyed; and he encouraged her interest in becoming a mechanic. He had even convinced Ratchet to teach her a few things about Autobot biology.

The drive through the desert separating the hidden Autobot base from the small town of Jasper, Nevada went quickly. But just as the outskirts of the town were coming into sight, a sudden shot from a blaster cannon hit the asphalt in front of them, forcing Optimus to swerve off the road. He skidded to a stop, all sensors turning up to their maximum.

"What the heck was that?" Olivia exclaimed, adjusting her black-framed glasses. The teenager was glad she had been wearing her seat belt. She did not relish the idea of being tossed into the bullet-proof glass of Optimus's windshield.

"I'm not sure," Optimus said calmly. "But I think you had better exit my cab. We may be under attack."

"Why would that not surprise me?" Olivia muttered under her breath, unbuckling and getting out. Ever since she had met the Autobots, she had been shot at more times than any person should.

Optimus transformed back into his root mode and brought out his guns, scanning the sky for trouble. And he found it, in the form of a green and yellow jet swooping down at the pair, guns blazing. Olivia dove for cover as bullets and laser blasts ripped up the ground around her. Optimus moved to block her from the line of fire and shot off his cannons at the attacker, his protective face mask snapping into place. He didn't know who the jet was, but he figured it must be a Decepticon newly come to Earth. The Con would probably reveal its identity soon enough. But whether it did or not, he had to protect his human charge.

"Prime!" a voice shouted. "Prepare to be terminated!"

"Never!" Optimus replied. Aiming carefully, the red and blue truck fired, the blast hitting the tip of the jet's wing.

A screech of pain tore through the air as the jet began to fall. But before it hit the ground, it transformed into a large mech with a silver face and red optics. The Decepticon glared with hatred at Optimus, one hand clutching at his wing. "You'll pay for that," he growled.

"Skyquake," Optimus said, recognizing him quickly. "I did not realize you had come to Earth."

"I am not surprised," Skyquake replied. "As I have been here for many stellar cycles, waiting to be awaken to serve my Lord Megatron."

"Guess no one's told him Megatron bit the big one weeks ago," Olivia muttered.

"LIES! Lord Megatron lives!" Skyquake roared, enraged. He charged toward Olivia, intent on crushing the human who dared to suggest such a thing.

"Oh no, you don't!" Optimus tackled Skyquake, pushing him away from Olivia. The pair fought hand-to-claw, too close together for either of them to use their cannons.

"Filthy Autobot! I'll rip your spark out and crush it!" Skyquake cried out, claws slashing against Optimus's facemask.

"I think not," the Autobot leader replied without a trace of fear, shoving the large Con away from him. He had fought against Megatron many times, and the Seeker was not even close to being as strong or intimidating as the Decepticon leader.

The two broke apart and got to their feet, scratched and dented. Skyquake growled, hate flashing in his optics. "Slagging Autobot," he snarled. "Why won't you just roll over and die already?"

"This is foolish, Skyquake," Optimus said, attempting to reason with the large jet. "Megatron is gone. We don't have to fight like this."

"Silence!" Skyquake shouted. "I will not listen to your lies!"

The green Decepticon snarled again, wanting nothing more than to crush Optimus beneath his foot. But he knew the semi wouldn't go down easily. If this kept up, Skyquake would soon be defeated. He glanced around, looking for something that might help him win, and his gaze landed on Olivia. A smirk appeared on silver faceplates. It wasn't the honorable thing to do, but if he could crush Optimus, it was worth the price.

Olivia gulped as Skyquake looked over at her. She did not like the expression in his optics- like a cat about to pounce upon and devour a helpless mouse. The teenaged girl considered running away as fast as her legs could take her; but considering he could exceed the speed of sound and would catch her in an instant, the thought was promptly dismissed.

Optimus also saw Skyquake look over at the young human. He instantly picked up on the jet's intentions, though he didn't want to believe it. Skyquake had always been an honorable mech, not prone to use others as shields. The Decepticon must be desperate to kill the Autobot leader if he was considering grabbing Olivia as a hostage.

"Leave her alone, Skyquake," Optimus said sternly. "She's not a part of this."

"I disagree, Optimus," Skyquake said, beginning to circle around towards her. "She dared to insult Lord Megatron in my presence. That alone is punishable by death."

"If you harm her, I will be forced to destroy you," Optimus told him, both knowing he wasn't bluffing. He moved to block Olivia from Skyquake's sight again, keeping himself between her and the large Con.

"I think not," the green mech said calmly, before lunging forward with surprising speed.

Skyquake barreled into Optimus, knocking the semi back. He kept going, arms locked around the other bot's waist. Optimus quickly recovered from his surprise and attempted to pry the Seeker off of him, raining blows upon his helm and shoulders. But Skyquake acted as if he didn't even feel it and simply tightened his grip. Then with a sudden upward shove, he somehow managed to flip the large truck over his shoulder. Optimus landed on his back, the force of the landing stunning his systems and making him unable to move for a few moments. Which was the time Skyquake needed to dart over and grab Olivia in an iron grip.

"Surrender, Prime, or she dies!"

Olivia grunted as the breath was squeezed out of her. Skyquake held her up in front of him, squeezing her just short of harming her. But everyone knew that all he had to do was tighten his grip even the tiniest bit, and she'd be a bloody pulp. If that happened, Optimus knew he'd never be able to forgive himself.

"Let her go, Skyquake," he said, keeping his voice calm. "She's not a part of this."

"I think not, Optimus," Skyquake replied. "She dared to insult Lord Megatron, and she's clearly important to you. She is very much a part of this."

"She can't defend herself against you. You know that. Yet you would use her as a shield to protect yourself from me."

"I will do what I must. Now, if you wish for this human to live, you will surrender yourself."

Optimus growled under his breath, frustrated that he had put Olivia in danger. If she had gone through the ground bridge, or even simply walked home, Skyquake would have had no reason to attack her. She would have been safe and sound at home working on her science project. But instead, she was held tight in a ruthless Decepticon's clutches and might be killed, all because he had given her a ride.

"Put away your weapons, Optimus," Skyquake said sternly. "I will kill her if you don't." To prove his point, he gave Olivia a light squeeze, causing her to gasp in pain.

Olivia whimpered slightly as steel fingers bigger than her arm tightened around her torso. It was painful to breathe, and black spots were beginning to swim in front of her eyes. If something didn't go very right very soon, she was going to pass out. At the very least, she was going to have bruised ribs when this was over.

"Last chance, Optimus. Surrender or the human dies," Skyquake says.

"Vrrr, beep click vrrr!"

Skyquake jerked around at the sound of the electronic beeps and whirls, blaster rising at the ready. But it didn't rise fast enough to get a shot off at Bumblebee, who plowed right into the Seeker in his alt mode. The yellow Camaro's momentum was enough to send Skyquake sprawling backwards, fingers opening up in shock.

With a terrified scream, Olivia plummeted towards the ground the second Skyquake's grip loosened. At 40 feet in the air, she knew she wouldn't survive hitting the ground. The teenaged girl squeezed her eyes tight, not wanting to see the rocky Nevada ground rush towards her. But instead of feeling a fatal impact with the ground, Olivia felt cool metallic fingers carefully wrap around her, snatching her out of the air.

"Olivia, are you all right?" Optimus asked her, his voice filled with the fear that she might be hurt.

"Op-Optimus?" Olivia wheezed, slowly opening her eyes. Her glasses had fallen off when Skyquake had grabbed her, and Optimus's face was a big silvery blur. But that silvery blur was the most welcome sight she had ever seen. "I think I'm ok."

Optimus sighed in relief, extremely glad that Olivia wasn't harmed. He stepped over to a large rock and gently set her down behind it. "I have to help Bumblebee," he told her. "Stay here and keep quiet."

"No problem," Olivia muttered, shaking too badly to go anywhere anyway. She crouched behind the rock and peered around it, watching Optimus join the fight against Skyquake.

Bumblebee easily dodged the blows from the larger and slower mech. The yellow Camaro chirred tauntingly, goading the Seeker, knowing his faster reflexes would keep him safe. Skyquake was furious that he couldn't get a hit in on the little Autobot. His anger was starting to get the better of him, fighting blindly and wildly. He didn't even notice Optimus come charging in behind him.

Optimus tackled Skyquake hard, knocking him to the ground. The Decepticon yelled in outrage, thrashing around and trying to punch the large semi off of him. He managed to break free and bellowed loudly. Skyquake then brought his cannon up right at the Autobot leader, intending to blow him to smithereens. But he was so blind with hate and bloodlust that he failed to see the sparking wires and bent end of his cannon. Optimus, however, did not miss it.

"Bumblebee! Get back! Now!" he yelled, scrambling back.

He raced over to Olivia and grabbed her, transforming into his alt mode. Once she was safely in his cab, the red and blue mech took off as fast as he could, putting as much distance between himself and Skyquake. Bumblebee was right on his tail, not wanting to be near the Seeker when the cannon went off.

"Cowards!" Skyquake shouted in contempt. "You flee the battlefield! You are not fit to lick Lord Megatron's pedes!"

With a final sneer, Skyquake aimed his cannon at Optimus's retreating bumper and fired. And exploded in a ball of flame. The broken cannon had misfired, the missile blowing up in the Decepticon's face. The energon in his systems caught fire instantly, and within seconds Skyquake had been transformed into a raging inferno. An agonizing scream of pain could be heard for miles until it abruptly cut off in a sickening gurgle as the Seeker's spark was extinguished.

Optimus sighed as Skyquake's screams died out. 'That didn't have to happen,' he thought, hating the violence and pointless death brought on by the war. 'If only Skyquake could have seen past his anger and hate, he might not have perished.'

"Is… is that guy… dead?" Olivia hesitantly asked, trembling slightly as the terror-fueled adrenaline and shock wore off.

"I'm afraid so," Optimus said, regret clear in his voice. "I am sorry you were put in danger, Olivia. It shouldn't have happened."

"It wasn't your fault, Optimus," she said, wanting to assure him despite shaking like a leaf. "You couldn't have known this would happen."

"Still, I should have protected you better. If Bumblebee hadn't shown up when he did, you could have been killed."

"Well, he did, and I'm not, and I'd rather not talk about it right now," Olivia stated. "I'd like to just go home and crawl into bed for the next 5 hours."

"Of course," Optimus said gently. No more words were said as he drove her back home, quietly humming his engine to soothe and comfort his young friend.

*4 days later*

"So, how did it go?" Ratchet asked the kids the moment they had arrived in the underground Autobot base. "You all got an 'A', of course!"

"I got a week of detention," Raf said glumly. "The volcano blew a hole in the school's roof."

"I got 2 weeks. Whatever that thing you built was, it destroyed several rows of lockers and a vending machine. The teacher sprained her shoulder trying to get away from it," Jack said, the young man shuddering at the thought of the wildly thrashing and roaring machine tearing through the metal lockers like wet paper.

"I got an 'F' and a reprimand about how imagination is great, but making a fictional planet for a science project isn't an 'appropriate place' for it," Miko said with a scowl.

"Well, on Cybertron you would have been awarded the highest honors!" Ratchet said with a huff.

"And how did your project turn out, Olivia?" Optimus asked, smiling down at her.

"I got an 'A+.' The teacher loved my project," Olivia said with a grin. "Especially since it didn't blow up or destroy anything."

Optimus chuckled. "Glad to hear it. And I'm glad you're doing alright as well."

Olivia smiled softly. "I'm fine, Optimus. And as long as you're always there to protect, I always will be."

Optimus smiled back at the young girl and reached down to rub her head with a finger like he would a sparkling. "I promise you, Olivia, I always will be."

"I'll hold you to that."


End file.
